Easter Party Features More Than One Miracle : Fertility: Gathering reunites mothers whose babies were conceived in-vitro through 3-year-old program at Martin Luther Hospital.

ANAHEIM —  The fact that it was an Easter celebration was only incidental to the more than 50 mothers and their children who packed a stuffy, crowded banquet room at Martin Luther Hospital on Thursday.

“Every time I pick her up, I just can’t believe it,” said Jeanne McCormick, who gazed at her sleeping 3-week-old daughter, Alysha Marie. “She is my miracle baby.”

Alysha and the other children at the Easter party were test tube babies conceived through the 3-year-old in-vitro fertilization program at the hospital.

“Each kid in this whole room is guaranteed spoiled,” said Nancy Arsenault, a special education teacher at Valencia Elementary. “You can tell that these babies are really wanted.” Arsenault is expecting her first child in late June after going through the fertilization program with about 25 other hopeful mothers last fall.

“There is a real bonding and lasting feeling that makes us want to stay in contact. We’ve watched each other become pregnant or not become pregnant,” she said.

By noon, the second annual Baby Reunion had overflowed the banquet room. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were there to work the crowd of children, who were given stuffed animals, cupcakes and juice. Balloons hovered at ceiling level and smiling mothers recounted the tough days leading up to pregnancy.

“Most people who come in here are generally panicked,” said Dr. David G. Diaz, an infertility specialist who, along with a team of scientists, lab technicians and therapists has been responsible for the birth of 85 babies to infertile women. “They tried all the conventional methods before coming here.”

Most of the mothers celebrating Thursday were in their mid-30s to early 40s. Diaz said that many of his patients are women who had delayed marriage and having children and then found out that with age they had become infertile.

Diaz said that Martin Luther is one of three hospitals in the county with a six-week fertility program that costs at least $8,000. Patients meet with Diaz almost daily, including Sundays, to ensure that the procedure progresses without complication.

“You really get to know these people,” Diaz said. “They are incredibly motivated.”

The program demands a rigorous itinerary of counseling sessions, fertility tests and insemination. In the first three years of the program, Diaz boasts a 71% success rate on the first attempt at in-vitro fertilization.

Two-year-old Tyler Korbetzky was the first test tube baby conceived at the hospital more than three years ago. His mother, Linda, now 43, said she became pregnant within two months of starting the program.

“They’re all miracles,” she said, surveying the room of wailing babies and happy mothers.